


kind, clever, and brave

by sky_of_starflowers



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, M/M, Snow, The Sugar Plum Princess - I mean Fairy, i didn't mean to it just kinda happened, in this house we stan barbie in the nutcracker, no capitalization, technically canon compliant because reference to dead!allison but not really necessary information
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28369077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sky_of_starflowers/pseuds/sky_of_starflowers
Summary: beacon hills is getting a lot more snow than usual. peter thinks that he and chris should go and try to talk to the fairy responsible: The Sugar Plum Princess.
Relationships: Chris Argent/Peter Hale, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	kind, clever, and brave

**Author's Note:**

> "The Sugar Plum Princess: kind, clever, and brave. That's it?!" - The Mouse King, _Barbie in the Nutcracker_
> 
> technically a christmas fic, just a little late. did i write the entire thing because i had that line from barbie in the nutcracker stuck in my head? yes

“a sugar plum what?”

“a sugar plum princess,” peter repeats, and the confused look on chris’s face doesn’t change at all. peter rolls his eyes like chris should know this. “it’s a type of fairy only active around the winter solstice, part of the seelie court. they got their name from a character in the tchaikovsky ballet.”

chris stares at peter. “and you think that this…” he pauses to take a deep breath before even _thinking_ about saying the name. “sugar plum princess is the cause behind this unusual snowfall we seem to be experiencing?” he gestures at the loft’s windows and, okay, chris understands how a fairy could be behind this.

sure, beacon hills usually sees a couple of inches of snowfall in the winter, but it rarely, if ever, sticks. currently though, they’re at three inches and counting, and the town has all but shut down because apparently nobody knows how to operate in the snow. the sheriff’s department was one of the few places still operating, and even then it was just parrish and the sheriff still working – parrish because they thought the snow might be supernatural in nature and the sheriff because he’d rolled his eyes at everyone’s panic and said, “believe it or not, snow isn’t the end of the world.”

local forecasts said they might get up to a foot, and, while fine in the scheme of things, that much snow definitely meant something supernatural was at work here.

“of course,” peter says, and stiles wonders, not for the first time, what goes on inside that man’s head. sure, he grew up a werewolf, but stiles doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the fact that his life is the type where someone can say “the sugar plum princess is responsible for the snow.”

chris sighs and presses his forefinger and thumb against the bridge of his nose. derek, from his place next to peter, looks just as frustrated but hides it better since peter isn’t looking at him. stiles is slightly upset but that’s because he’s out ten bucks.

“what do you suggest we do?” chris asks, and ah, yes, that’s why stiles doesn’t mind losing ten bucks. chris looks like he’s questioning how his life came to this point, that he’s listening to _peter hale_ , and peter, for all that he sounds concerned, looks like christmas came early.

peter hasn’t moved from where he’s leaning his hands against the table the entire conversation, but for some reason, stiles expects peter to wave his hands dramatically while he explains the plan to save beacon hills from the un-californian snow. what actually comes out of peter’s mouth is “go talk to it” and stiles blinks at him because _what?_

“are you okay? have you been possessed?” peter’s not the only one turning an unimpressed look to stiles, and stiles just holds up his hands, palms up. “what? he sounds more like scott than he does himself. i’m just, y’know, making sure everything’s normal.”

peter rolls his eyes again but this time at stiles. “when dealing with faeries, it’s better to try and trick them into something with words than try to trap them, _especially_ when they’re from the seelie court. you could try asking an unseelie to back off, but they’d probably reply by trying to kill you.”

stiles frowns. “isn’t talking to a fairy dangerous? i mean, they can’t lie which makes them smarter.”

“faeries from the seelie court are more mischievous than malevolent,” chris says before peter can. “this snow is probably meant more for fun than any attempt at harm.” he turns back to peter. “who do you think should go and try to talk this sugar pie princess out of snowing us in?”

“sugar _plum_ princess,” derek corrects from behind peter, and stiles kind of wants to cackle with glee because _holy shit derek just said that_.

peter, however, has no qualms about smiling about the fact that a group of grown men are discussing a sugar plum princess. he straightens, standing away from the table, and gives chris a winning smile. “i was thinking that you and i should go looking for the sugar plum princess since we have the most experience with faeries.” 

when chris opens his mouth, presumably to object, stiles says, “i think that’s a good idea, mostly because i think that peter’d be able to outsmart the faeries.”

“and i’m sure you know a thing or two that might be effective against them if asking nicely doesn’t work out,” derek tells chris.

stiles can’t believe it. he and derek are conspiring, albeit spontaneously, to help peter get chris to do…something.

and with the three of them advocating for it, it _works_. chris looks resigned to a long afternoon of wandering around the woods, looking for a fairy that may or may not try to kill them. “i’ve got a few things,” chris says, already turning towards the door. for a split second, stiles thinks he sees chris smile to himself, just as he’s turned his back to peter and derek. “i’ll meet you at the entrance of the preserve,” chris says as he walks towards the loft door. he’s out just after peter agrees, and, again, stiles is wondering what is his life.

“i suppose i’ll have to go grab something more weather appropriate to wear,” peter says, walking around the table and making his intention to leave no secret. “you two play nice while we’re gone.”

on his way out, stiles slips peter ten dollars, and peter winks at stiles as he slides the loft door shut behind him. stiles turns around with a sigh, only to be stopped short at the sight of derek staring at him.

“stiles,” derek says, arms crossed over his chest. really stiles didn’t need the reminder that derek’s wearing a knit sweater with thumbholes (listen, stiles _appreciates_ the thumbholes alright? they make derek look cuddly) and forces himself to face the fact that, okay, derek’s suspicious.

“that’s me,” stiles says, fully aware that there’s no escaping explaining himself now but still hoping that derek just wants to make out or something.

derek rolls his eyes, and stiles is relieved that he’s still in somewhat of a good mood. “what did you do?”

stiles scoffs, bringing a hand up to his chest in mock-offense. “what makes you think i did anything?” derek looks at the loft door and then back at stiles, very obviously saying _you and peter made a bet about something_. “it’s harmless,” stiles tries.

“stiles,” derek says again, and stiles sighs.

“i made a deal with a snow fairy,” stiles admits, and derek just frowns at him, his eyebrows forming an angry v. “but i was very specific! i explained our units of measurement and exactly how much snow i wanted over a specific course of time! i also said that it had to mimic naturally occurring snow and therefore require the ground to be a certain temperature, hence the recent cold spell.”

when derek continues to frown at him, stiles sighs. “i just wanted a white christmas, alright?”

derek’s frown softens at that. “i get that, stiles. what i _don’t_ get is what does peter get out of going along with your plan? how does he even know about it?”

stiles rubs a hand against the back of his neck, laughing awkwardly. “uh, yeah, he kind of caught me doing research on the summoning spell for the snow fairy. he promised not to tell if he was the one who came up with an answer about what created the snow.” he pauses, turning to look out the window with a thoughtful expression. “i wonder if that has something to do with why he took chris with him.”

derek suddenly looks like he’d rather throw up than continue this line of conversation. “never mind, i know exactly what peter gets out of this,” he says, dropping his arms to his sides. he turns toward the stairs, probably to leave stiles alone, but he can’t just _say_ shit like that and expect stiles to not be curious.

“wait, you just figured it out! derek! tell me why peter took chris with him!”

* * *

as is common when it snows, the preserve is fucking cold when peter steps out of his car. true, he was the one to suggest that he and chris come out here and go hunting for an imaginary creature that poses a potential threat to beacon hills. that doesn’t mean that peter doesn’t feel the cold trying to bite through his coat. werewolves run warmer than humans, but that doesn’t make them invulnerable.

chris, the smug fucker, is well-protected under several layers of long sleeve shirts and a carhartt, one gloved hand resting on his holstered gun. for someone who was skeptical during the entire explanation peter provided and _then_ had the audacity to look resigned to spending an afternoon in the woods, chris looks remarkably willing to be out in the falling snow right now. “shall we?” he asks, and peter huffs before leading chris into the preserve.

peter very generously keeps the thought that chris probably knows the preserve well enough to navigate his way through it without a guide to himself.

they don’t say anything as they make their way through the woods – peter following an imaginary scent and chris following peter. it’s not entirely awful, and if it weren’t for the fact that chris is armed to take down any number of supernatural beings, peter would even consider this a friendly walk in the woods. as it is, the only reason they’re in the preserve while it’s snowing is that stiles wanted snow and peter wanted to talk to chris.

the only problem is that he can’t quite figure out what to say. so peter doesn’t say anything, and again, chris follows his lead.

about forty-five minutes into their inevitable fruitless search, chris breaks the silence. “you know, i had a daughter too,” chris says, and peter pauses where he is, a few feet in front of chris.

“i am aware, she was partially responsible for my death,” peter responds. there’s no good way to bring up either of their lost families, so peter deals with it the same way he deals with everything else: bluster and sarcasm.

chris rolls his eyes. “which means i know that the sugar plum princess is a character from a barbie movie,” he says, and _that_ makes peter freeze. “allison loved those movies until victoria said she was too old for them and donated them. allison didn’t talk to her for a whole week when she found out.”

 _of **course** allison loved the barbie movies_, peter thinks to himself. “ah,” is what actually comes out of peter’s mouth. he turns around to face chris – perhaps not a wise decision – and prides himself on not immediately running away.

* * *

chris doesn’t cross his arms, but it’s a close thing. “so why don’t you tell me what we’re really doing out here, peter?”

there’s a long pause and then – “this isn’t the first christmas we’ve spent in close proximity to each other,” peter says with more hesitance than chris expects.

chris stares at peter. “no, it’s not.” they’d crossed paths once during college – chris on a hunt in the town where peter was going to school. it turned out that peter had been following the rogue omega as well, and the resulting blizzard had left the two of them stuck in a hotel room for a solid week.

while both of them had had their patience tested during that week – if the power had gone out, one or both of them would’ve ended up dead – neither of them could say that they hated the experience entirely. living in such close quarters lended itself to an unexpected intimacy between them – not necessarily romantic or sexual, but chris had caught himself staring at peter right after he took a shower, and there was more than one time that peter had looked at chris as he stripped for bed.

neither of them had talked about it, of course, and then they hadn’t seen each other again until after the hales were dead and peter was about to be set on fire.

peter, for all that he was the one who started them on this topic, looks like this is about as painful as pulling fingernails. “when i could finally think again, during my coma, that week was one of the safe spots to think about,” he admits, and chris can’t help the way his eyebrows raise in surprise. “yes, yes, i’m aware, werewolf, hunter, hale, argent, blah blah blah.” peter pauses, his eyes flicking around the woods like he’s checking to make sure that they’re actually alone. “but…”

“it didn’t involve any of your family,” chris says, filling the blanks himself. if peter’s last moments of consciousness had been watching almost his entire family suffocate and burn to death around him, then it makes sense that peter’s subconscious would choose something a little less…familial while his body rebuilt itself. “that still doesn’t explain what we’re doing out here,” chris adds, starting to feel the chill seep through his clothes. they’ve been stopped long enough that the heat chris had generated during their walk was fading.

if chris didn’t know any better, he’d say that peter was blushing. “i may have… _invented_ a reason to get you alone. it’s not like you’re fighting to spend time alone with me,” peter adds, and chris just knows that he’s thinking of the time he stabbed chris with a piece of rebar.

chris hums. “if you wanted to ask me out, then lying isn’t necessarily a good move.” he thinks that peter’s about to hang his head in shame when he adds, “unless you’re just a romantic who wanted to walk in the snow with me.”

to say that chris had never thought of doing something romantic like this with peter would be a lie. it is, however, the first time he’s said something like this out loud. peter, well, he looks nothing short of shocked. “that’s an awfully kind thing to think, christopher,” peter says, though he still sounds caught off-guard.

it makes chris laugh a little and _wow_. he hasn’t done that in ages. “you’re not as good at hiding as you think you are,” he says, and chris did not mean to say that at _all_.

well, if this was meant to be a romantic walk in the snow, it might as well be an honest walk in the snow too.

* * *

peter doesn’t have a good response to that. hell, he doesn’t have a good response to any of this. of course chris was going to find out that they weren’t actually trying to track down a member of the seelie court (that would be suicide) but he hadn’t expected it to be his cover story that gave him away.

nor was he expecting chris to just lay him out like that. he thinks that, maybe, he’d like to kiss chris.

(it’s not a new thought by any means. the week he and chris had spent in the hotel together, peter had seen things. things that were very difficult to think about in a house full of werewolves where almost everyone knew everything. privacy was precious.)

eventually, peter finds his voice again. “i’d like to say the same to you, however you’re much better at hiding than i apparently am.” he clears his throat. “well, since the game is up, i suppose we should head back to the loft,” peter says, and he tries so hard not to sound disappointed.

chris doesn’t move though. “one more thing. what about the ten dollars stiles gave you?” chris asks, and peter doesn’t know why he expected chris to not know about it, even if chris wasn’t even in the room when the money exchanged hands.

“i may or may not have bet him that i could get you to say sugar plum princess.” chris laughs a little at peter’s answer, nodding like that’s the only answer that makes sense. peter sighs internally, soaking up the sound of chris’s laughter before moving to walk back toward the preserve entrance.

“wait,” chris says, and peter, miraculously, does. peter doesn’t flinch when chris closes some of the distance between them, but it’s a close thing. “i thought the whole purpose of this was to get me alone.”

peter plans to do the smart thing here and take the coward’s way out. “and we have been, for nearly an hour. time well spent, wouldn’t you say?” chris gives peter a look, and peter doesn’t know why it affects him, but it does. “the purpose of this may have been to ask you out on a proper date.”

chris steps up to peter, stopping in front of him. “now, was that so hard?” peter doesn’t dignify that with an answer, instead lifting his chin slightly to emphasize their small height difference. chris rolls his eyes. “if i kiss you, will you go running for the hills?”

peter scoffs. “there aren’t any hills around here,” he says, and he’s quite proud of himself for keeping his voice steady.

he doesn’t run for the hills when chris presses their lips together, and he certainly doesn’t run for the hills when they stay in the snow for another ten minutes. from there, the next decision to make seems obvious: should they go to peter’s apartment or chris’s?

* * *

“am i the only one who’s never seen this movie?” stiles asks derek hours later, the two of them curled up together on the couch at stiles’s house. on the tv, the opening credits to _barbie in the nutcracker_ are playing, the snow fairy and spring fairy doing their best to outshine the other.

“apparently,” derek replies, eyes focused on the tv. “i had two sisters who would put the movie on every year around christmas.” stiles shuts his mouth at that because, oh yeah, dead family, how romantic and thoughtful. but derek doesn’t let stiles go from where he’s tucked into derek’s side. “you’re gonna miss the movie if you keep shifting like that,” derek says as kelly dances to the dance of the sugar plum fairy.

stiles settles into derek’s side and under the blanket, turning his attention back to the tv. guess he has to see what all the fuss is about.

(“so _that’s_ why flowers sprang from her footsteps!” stiles says an hour and a half later, ending credits rolling onscreen. for his part, derek looks like he’s trying not to laugh at stiles’s reaction.)

**Author's Note:**

> and then derek goes "maybe we should watch princess and the pauper next."
> 
> why yes, chris _does_ make a reference to the movie before telling peter that he knows about the ruse
> 
> why can i never write anything short? i was like "oh peter would definitely say that the sugar plum princess is responsible for snow in beacon hills" and now it's "oh peter's trying to have a Feelings talk with chris which he can only do by manufacturing a situation for them to be alone. let's explore that"
> 
> me, switching pov in ideas for scenes and then realizing that i have to actually write part of the scene that leads up to that moment and creating shorter sections as a result of the frequent pov shifts? never


End file.
